The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...
. It was held in
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
of the games was made by the New Zealand
National Film Unit
The National Film Unit (NFU) was a state-owned film-production organisation originally based in Miramar, New Zealand. Founded in 1936 when the government took over a private film studio, Filmcraft, the NFU produced newsreels, documentaries and ...
.
The main venue was
Eden Park
Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...
, although the closing ceremonies were held at Western Springs Stadium, see
New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games
New Zealand at the 1950 British Empire Games was represented by a team of 175 competitors and 24 officials. Selection of the host nation's team for the 1950 British Empire Games, Games in Auckland, was the responsibility of the New Zealand Olymp ...
. The fourth games were originally awarded to
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada and were to be held in 1942 but were cancelled due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Participating teams
*
*
*
*
*
*
23px Malaya
Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia:
Political entities
* British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...
—first appearance
* (host)
* —first appearance
*
*
*
*
Games venue
The main stadium was at
Eden Park
Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...
. Other venues were the
Auckland Town Hall
The Auckland Town Hall is an Edwardian architecture, Edwardian building on Queen Street, Auckland, Queen Street in the Auckland CBD, New Zealand, known both for its original and ongoing use for administrative functions (such as Local authority, ...
(boxing and wrestling), the Drill Hall (fencing),
Western Springs (cycling and the closing ceremony)
Lake Karapiro
Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for ...
(rowing), and the Newmarket Olympic Pool (swimming). Accommodation was at the Ardmore Teachers' Training College, away at South Auckland. Total attendance was 246,694; higher than the following three Games, 1954 (159,636), 1958 (178,621) and 1962 (224,987).
[Dheensaw page 35-41]
Medals by country
At the 1950 British Empire Games all the teams won at least one medal.
Medals by event
Athletics
Boxing
Cycling
Track
Road
Diving
Men's events
Women's events
Fencing
Men's events
Women's events
Lawn bowls
Rowing
All events were for men only. The events were held at
Lake Karapiro
Lake Karapiro () is an artificial reservoir lake on the Waikato River at Karapiro, south-east of Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge in New Zealand's North Island. The lake was formed in 1947 by the damming of the Waikato River to store water for ...
, south of Auckland. Three special trains took 1500 people to
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
on 7 February 1950.
Swimming
Men's events
Women's events
Water polo
Water polo was contested by men's teams only, with New Zealand and Australia the only two teams entered. The matches were played at the Olympic Pool in
Newmarket.
Weightlifting
All events were for men only.
Wrestling
All events were for men only.
References
Further reading
*
External links
"Auckland 1950"''commonwealthsport.com''. Commonwealth Sport.
"Results and Medalists—1950 British Empire Games". ''Thecgf.com''. Commonwealth Games Federation.
{{Portal bar, Sports, 1950s, New Zealand
British Empire Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 193 ...
Sports competitions in Auckland
1950s in Auckland
International sports competitions hosted by New Zealand
Commonwealth Games in New Zealand
British Empire Games
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 193 ...
Commonwealth Games by year
February 1950 sports events in Oceania